It just me and my students've read Maupassant’s "The Necklace" aaaaand I've decided to write a short essey 'bout it, so as Chatte_D've asked me to post another post (a pun ^.^) I'll just put it here, so... don't hit me!
By the standards of the polarized modern society, cynicism, sarcasm, and irony are considered either to be deplorable or comical. Today, cynicism is being redefined, sarcasm becomes TV personality fodder, and the movie industry has a copyright on irony. Officially, irony is defined as a combination of circumstances or a result that is the opposite of what is or might be expected or considered appropriate. Cynicism, by contrast, is the belief that people are motivated in all their actions only by selfishness, denying the sincerity of people’s motives and actions, or the value of living. Sarcasm is a taunting, sneering, caustic, or cutting remark, generally ironic. In “The Necklace”, by Guy de Maupassant, these three elements are crucial to the story, much as they are crucial to society.
In “The Necklace”, a poor girl marries a lower middle-class merchant. Being quite attractive, she believes she deserves a higher standard of living than her current one. In an effort to assuage her insatiable appetite for all things glitzy, her husband procures an invitation to a ball. Not being able to get over her lack of jewelry, she borrows a beautiful diamond-studded necklace from a friend, but loses it at the ball. The bourgeois couple buys another necklace on credit, and becomes poor as they work to repay their debt. After ten years, the pitiable couple is solvent once more, and the wife tells her friend about their blunder. Her friend, in shock, stammers that the necklace was a replica, made of fake diamonds.
The cynicism in “The Necklace” lies in the turn of events. It is cynical to think that the necklace would not be found or returned. Further in the story, when the husband offers to buy her a dress for the party, the wife “
she reflected for some seconds, making estimates and thinking of a sum that she could ask for without bringing with it an immediate refusal”. By conveying the woman’s character in this manner, the author also conveys his cynical beliefs about human nature. Today’s society often frowns upon this cynical point of view. It is labeled as “liberal” even “pessimistic”, depending on the age group of the cynic. Many times, people will go out of their way to appear positive, even as their position weakens; as the husband does in “The Necklace”. Guy de Maupassant has a distinctly negative opinion of this behavior.
In this story, the sarcasm makes itself known in the narration. Maupassant writes, “
the sight of the little Breton, who made this humble home, awoke in her sad regrets and desperate dreams”. She has a maid, and an apartment of her own, yet she cannot appreciate her blessings. Another good example states, “
and she wept for whole days from chagrin, from regret, from despair, and disappointment”. As the author describes her sadness, there is a note of scorn in his voice. Although modern society finds sarcasm quite humorous when delivered through media, sarcasm is seen widely as a menace to healthy relationships and social grace.
“The Necklace” uses irony, though, to greatest effect. After Mrs. Loisel loses her friend’s false necklace and works to pay for a real diamond one, irony strikes powerfully as she realizes that her work has been in vain and that the necklace was false. Loisel returned to the state of poverty she knew as a little girl. She envisions massive rooms, footmen, chandeliers, but ends up never experiencing any of those things. Not only did she become poor, but her work was for naught. Maupassant’s use of irony brought the story to life. Today, writers often use irony in their work, sometimes to great effect. However, when irony is overused, the entire literary technique is hazard. If people were to tire of irony, they would be shunning an invaluable asset to literature.
If he was a contemporary writer, Guy de Maupassant would be called shallow, pessimistic, and unrealistic by the majority of society. Many would ignore his work, preferring a quick-paced story by Stephen King*. The amount of sarcasm, cynicism, and irony in “The Necklace” is considerable. While some in modern society would embrace his work as intuitive and witty, he would never gain a large following. A large portion of society prefers to steep itself in happy endings, and irony does not usually complement a story with a happy ending. Optimism is great, but it must have balance. Too much optimism breeds idealism. Idealism spawns naïveté. If everyone is naïve, there is the potential for mass manipulation. Keeping the general public from following blindly, cynicism, sarcasm, and irony provide the necessary balance to optimism. Maupassant’s story explicitly decries the act of following without thinking. Against her husband’s better judgment, Mrs. Loisel went out for a night on the town and came back poorer, monetarily and mentally, than when she had started. This is a good lesson to learn, and stories like “The Necklace” are indispensable tools in teaching it.
Note:
* it just I hate Stephen King :-|
